FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) - Some of South Carolina's coastal utility customers are seeing their first power outages blamed on Hurricane Irene's approach.

South Carolina Electric and Gas said Friday that more than 2,500 customers have lost power as the hurricane's winds and rains began raking the coast and knocked down a utility pole and left power lines across a bridge to Folly Island and Folly beach.

The bridge reopened several hours later. SCE&G spokesman Robert Yanity wasn't sure how long it would take to restore power.

About 1,800 SCE&G customers had lost power on Fripp Island in Beaufort County, but that had been restored.

State-owned utility Santee Cooper serves the northern coastal area and spokeswoman Mollie Gore said there were no outages tied to Hurricane Irene late Friday morning.

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